Trying to make sense of this crazy world...one foodstuff, beverage, and meal at a time.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

For You!

I'm torn. It's 8:40 p.m. here. I know that I have roughly one hour of wakefulness left before I collapse onto my pillow for the night.

My new term of classes start tomorrow. My backpack is ready to go. So is my leftover-lunch. So is my breakfast smoothie. All important emails has been sent. I'm caught up on Facebook news.

Hm. How does one spend their last hour of energy before beginning the roller coaster ride of a new term?

By watching Downton Abbey, Season 1 again...natch. Now that there's no more DA until next January, I must watch the old episodes again for that fix. And that, up until about twn minutes ago, was exactly what I'd planned on doing.

Until I popped in here for moment to check on things. And by things, I mean my "Stats". And actually, by that, I mean my "Audience". And I was shocked to see that in the last 24 hours, there have been more looks here at Be Food from France than from the US.

And well, let me tell you...the sense of responsibility sat right there heavy on my chest for a minute. That I've entertained (accidental or otherwise) French readers here! That others besides my close friends read this blog!

Egad!

Downton can wait.

Due to the change in term schedules, I got a day off from school. After I got my dental bridge put it (which was freaking traumatic, let me tell you), I made these foods for the evening's dinner.

- Strawberry Shortcake...using Bisquick mix to make the biscuits. I might have made them from scratch, but I was distracted by the fact that due to the novocaine, my face felt like it was sliding off my head most of the morning. I recovered enough later to slice up the strawberries in a coherent manner...and I got the brilliant idea to zest in some lemon and add some simple ginger syrup...and wow, did that make a difference!

- Twisted Tater Tot Casserole (recipe found here, but I added some kale too). This is what happens when you ask your kids what they want to eat for dinner...they respond with 'Walking Tacos' or 'Tater Tot Casserole'. I'm working on that.

- Gingered Baby Carrots (courtesy of Claire Robinson at Food Network's 5 Ingredient Fix). I even did the parchment steaming circle. They turned out amazing, and I want to try it again sometime, using ground ginger instead of crystallized (because, really, who could actually fine dice that stuff?)

Oh man, I've just checked the clock. It's 9:02. I can feel my body starting to check out. I better make this last bit quick.

A new slew of classes start tomorrow for me. Here's the lineup:

Stocks, Soups, and Sauces
Shellfish, Meat, and Poultry
Dining Service
Principles of Cooking
Math for Liberal Arts
Elementary Spanish I

Looks pretty interesting, right? I certainly am excited. However, that excitement is dampened by the fact that a monster snowstorm is due to crash in on my party sometime tomorrow afternoon. But I have no worries. There's a whole chicken, thawed, in my fridge and baby red potatoes that I'll have some fun regardless of the weather!

You Know You Wanna Know

When you're in your late thirties, most people expect that you've got your life figured out. Your career is established, your purpose is set, and you are moving in the direction that these things impel you.

Right?

I'm a late bloomer. I'm just getting these things figured out. What am I supposed to be doing? What is going to make me happy? What is my purpose? That's what I am searching for.